“The Ground and the Air” has been replaced with a “do-over” post” which you can read. I am not pleased with the half-hearted effort I have put into St. John Studies this past year. I am reposting my comments on Matt Chandler’s book The Explicit Gospel. The “do-over” post is “Of First Importance” posted on November 12, 2025.
“Understanding What God Has Done” has been replaced with a “do-over” post which you can read. I am not pleased with the half-hearted effort I have put into St. John Studies this past year. I am reposting my comments on Matt Chandler’s book The Explicit Gospel. The “do-over” post is “Of First Importance” posted on November 12, 2025.
“Ears to Hear” has been replaced with a “do-over” post which you can read. I am not pleased with the half-hearted effort I have put into St. John Studies this past year. I am reposting my comments on Matt Chandler’s book The Explicit Gospel. The “do-over” post is “His Work, Not Mine” posted on October 31, 2025.
Matt Chandler (born June 20, 1974) is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor. He is the senior pastor of Village Church, based in Flower Mound, Texas (Southern Baptist) and the executive director of the board of the Acts 29 Network.
Chandler was born in Seattle, Washington. His father was in the military, causing him to move multiple times. They lived in Olympia, Washington; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Alameda, California, and Galveston, Texas ] In Texas, the 6 ft 5 Chandler was a member of the high school football team. He often refers to Jeff Faircloth, a football teammate, was quick to share the good news of Jesus with him in a way that intrigued Chandler. Over the course of two years, Chandler attended church gatherings, opposed the beliefs, raised questions, and doubts against Christianity before deciding to accept the teaching of Christianity.
Following high school, Chandler acquired his first job, as a janitor at Pine Drive Christian School in Dickinson, Texas. Chandler first spoke in front of a crowd when he was asked to share his testimony at a high school chapel. He was then offered a job as a youth minister at a small Baptist church in La Marque, Texas, at the age of 18. Chandler moved to Abilene, Texas, where he attended Hardin-Simmons University. While there, Chandler began leading the weekly Grace Bible Study at the Paramount Theater. Chandler earned a Bible degree from Hardin-Simmons University. In 1996, Chandler was hired by Beltway Park Baptist Church under pastor David McQueen. In 1999, Chandler started a non-profit called Waiting Room Ministries with close friend Shane Barnard. Chandler twice started seminary classes but dropped out both times because he felt that he had acquired the tools he was learning from seminary back in bible school. He married his wife, Lauren, on July 31, 1999, and they have three children: Audrey, Reid and Norah.
A woman on the board of his non-profit organization asked Chandler to put in a résumé at Highland Village First Baptist Church. Chandler claims he did not expect to get the job due to conflicts in beliefs. Despite this, he was offered the job, and in 2002 he accepted the position. The church at that point had an attendance of 160 people. Now known as The Village Church, it has since become a multi-site megachurch with over 14,000 attendees. Chandler says his character was partially shaped by John Piper.
Chandler is an elder and the lead pastor of teaching at The Village Church, which is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The Explicit Gospel is his first book.
This information is sourced from Wikipedia “Matt Chandler” accessed on 3/24/2025.
One of the most complex projects I have done since I began blogging in December 2014 is the project I have just completed. I have commented on three books at one time. To add to the complexity, the topic covered by those books is quite controversial within the United Methodist Church and American culture as a whole: the role of homosexuality in the Christian church. I have approached this project with an inquiring mind, trying as much as possible not to let my personal feelings intrude. I have tried to learn about the issue, present material I think is important and not steer the reader in any particular direction. I have tried to use non-offensive language; I know that some terms are regarded inappropriate by the LGBTQ community and other terms are much preferred. My objective was to comment on what experts had to say on the subject. I was highly motivated to tackle this project because the idea of Christians who want sex with their own gender has divided my church; some Christians go so far as to believe that these people cannot even be Christian. My particular focus was the following: is there a role for a gay person to play in the church? How does a Christian church minister to the person who prefers same-sex intimate relationships? How does a Christian do what Jesus asks all of us to do: love gay people as we love all people?
I have turned to three authors: one who represents affirming ideas, Peter Gomes in his book The Good Book; non-affirming ideas, Kevin DeYoung in his book What Does the Bible Teach about Homosexuality; and ideas that attempt to bridge the extremes, Preston Sprinkle’s book People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality is Not Just an Issue.
I began this effort on February 2, 2023 with an intro to Rev. Peter Gomes. Since that post, I have written twenty-four times on Gomes’s affirming ideas, twenty times on DeYoung’s non-affirming ideas and twenty times on Preston Sprinkle’s attempt to find middle ground between the two extremes.* In the middle of this project, my church left the United Methodist Church and joined the Global Methodist Church.** The United Methodist Church affirms gay members and the Global Methodist Church does not affirm gay Christians who want to lead in the church [Bishop, Superintendent or Pastor]. The Global Methodist Church does not allow consecrated gay marriage to occur in the church. I commented on this pivotal moment in a post entitled “The Shrinking Center,” April 8, 2023.
I feel it is important to be open about my beliefs and attitudes that were in place when this project began. I joined the United Methodist Church in 1998 and it has always been a wonderful church for me. I have been a heterosexual all my life, married to the same woman for forty-nine years. I have never had negative feelings about the LGBTQ community, feeling that the choices we all make have consequences and acting on same-sex desires can have consequences [Biblical end-of-life consequences]. However it is not my place to judge; people have a right to make their own life choices. Even though my church split off from the United Methodist Church on March 5, 2023 I did not feel compelled to leave the church. In coming to this vote, the church had three meetings where the topic of disaffiliation*** was discussed and even though there was discussion, I was not satisfied that the discussion was adequate. There was a lot of talk about friends who are gay, family members who are gay but there was no focus on Scripture. People who were upset and left the church seemed to do so because gay friends and family were no longer going to be welcome. I don’t think that is true, but that motivated me to try to dig deeper on this subject.
As I worked through discussions of each book, I tried to evaluate each argument that each author made. Now it is time to conclude my own personal thoughts on this project. It is time to summarize what I have learned.
The affirming position was represented by Peter Gomes. Gomes was the Pastor at Harvard’s Memorial Church; he was gay but celibate. He stated that many Christians who denigrate homosexuals like to use the Bible to make their case and he states that for them, the Bible is thought of as words “set in stone.” Gomes believes God’s word “evolves and transforms as we evolve and transform.” Over time it becomes more inclusive. If Bible knowledge does not evolve, we have what he refers to as Bibliolatry [worship of the Bible as an idol]. Worst of all, readers of the Bible can suffer from closemindedness. What does Gomes think about the influence of culture on God’s word? Well, Bible readers cannot shake off the lens of culture; culture certainly influences the Bible that we read. As culture changes, our understanding of the Bible changes.
Gomes spends most of his chapters [four, five, six and seven] presenting examples of the influence of American culture on Biblical belief. He cites the “hard text” of temperance, how that idea was not really expressed in the Bible but American Baptists pushed the idea as Biblical. It was American law for a short time but many Americans could not give up their alcohol and temperance was repealed. Chattel slavery is another example of Bible and culture. Southern slave owners justified slavery with the Bible but the American Civil War and the cultural shift of abolition brought an end to that immoral practice. Anti-Semitism was common in American history due to hatred for the Jewish people who crucified Jesus. This form of discrimination has lessened over time as American culture has became more inclusive. Finally believers in the Bible cited Biblical attitudes toward women as a means to diminish the role of women in American society. Over time that attitude has changed as American culture has changed. American women attained education and got the right to vote. I have covered four chapters in a single paragraph but what is the reason for Gomes giving us what he calls “hard texts”? He is showing us that if culture can change and these ideas can be accepted, why can’t homosexuals be accepted in American society; indeed, why can’t they be accepted in the church. Too often the Bible is used to bolster the “status quo” but Gomes argues in all these examples that America has become a better nation due to cultural change.
Gomes uses inductive reasoning to make the case that one day the church will be able to allow same-sex Christians to participate and be active church members. Example after example of cultural change is supposed to lead the reader to the conclusion that he is correct. The status quo within the early church was that homosexuality was not much of an issue. It was not practiced except in cases of pederasty [and usually between upper class Romans and young lower class boys]. Early church fathers did not even see this as a major problem; they were more concerned with guidelines for sex between heterosexuals. Jews knew that same-sex relations were prohibited by The Law. Marriage was made a sacrament in the thirteenth century which emphasized that sex was an activity for procreation and not for pleasure. Homosexual sex was still of little concern. Over time sexual pleasure within a heterosexual marriage became more acceptable and same-sex activity became more of an “open” reality. Homosexuals thought that if heterosexuals could enjoy sex, why can’t we? The problem [the church states] is that homosexuals do not have sex for procreation. Therefore over time, homosexuality was seen more as a sin; it became a crime and finally an “illness”. Gomes states this all stems from the sex act of the homosexual. He gets right at what many Christians struggle with: “it is not what you are; it is what you do.”
Today same-sex activity is not what it was in Old and New Testament times. Sexual exploitation of a powerful person over a less powerful younger person was the most common same-sex relationship in those days. There was no conception that a homosexual relationship could be permanent, monogamous, faithful and intimate. Today are we ready to accept active same-sex Christians in the church? Some congregations are [the United Methodist Church included]. But many struggle with this idea still, feeling that a homosexual cannot be a Christian. Peter Gomes felt that the church needed to change; he served as a celibate gay pastor to Harvard’s Memorial Church for forty years. His sexual orientation was no secret. He announced it at a student rally at Harvard Yard.
Representing those who think that a homosexual cannot be a Christian is Dr. Kevin DeYoung. On the first page of his book he states his position: “Same-sex intimacy is a sin.” DeYoung used the Bible to support traditional marriage and his traditional attitude toward sexual activity. It should be between a man and a woman. God designed the man and the woman for sex [His divine design]. The fact that homosexual sex does not lead to procreation is evidence that homosexuality is wrong.
DeYoung interprets passages of Scripture as non-affirming; some of the same ones that Gomes felt were open to less negative meanings. Sodom and Gomorrah is a tale of a city that was destroyed for same-sex practices, whereas Gomes felt that the city’s main problem was pride. Leviticus includes Scripture that prohibits same-sex intimacy for a good reason. Sexual activity should lead to procreation and that good reason applies to today’s culture. New Testament references to same-sex activity are a struggle for DeYoung as he is aware of the practice of pederasty. Maybe that is what the Apostle Paul is referring to in First Timothy and First Corinthians but DeYoung is just not sure. He has an extensive analysis of the Greek words arsenokoitai and malakoi meaning “bedders of men” but cannot confirm that those words support the idea that same-sex relationships are acceptable today. His position is clear: “Paul is saying what the rest of the Bible supports and most of church history has assumed: homosexual activity is not a blessing to be celebrated and solemnized but a sin to be repented of, forsaken and forgiven” [67].
Throughout his book DeYoung is unwilling to budge on his non-affirming stance. To summarize he believes in “the moral logic of monogamy?” He means that monogamy makes the best sense for society. It is preferable to have one man married to one woman. DeYoung holds the Bible up as a Book which calls Christians to personal holiness. He fears that affirming same-sex relationships within the church will lead to “liberalized” ideas about other sexual practices that go far beyond the idea of heterosexual monogamy.
Regarding his stance on Scripture, should Christians accept the power of personal experience and the changing tide of cultural values or should they cling to their Bibles? DeYoung makes it very clear. He is standing with Scripture. Affirming same-sex orientation violates the grand narrative of Scripture. For DeYoung, the “grand narrative” is the story of the Bible: God sends His Holy Son to earth as a Sacrifice for unholy humans so that the power of the Holy Spirit can be felt in believers’ lives. Those believers can enjoy God on this earth as He helps them live lives dedicated to His righteousness. Can a homosexual be a Christian? Can they experience the righteousness that Christ offers? DeYoung has no qualms about saying no; same-sex intimacy is a sin.
Finally I come to Preston Sprinkle who seeks to understand the Christian who affirms homosexuals in the church and the Christian who does not affirm homosexuals in the church. He is well aware that many think homosexuality is ok for a devout Christian life and leadership in the church and he is well aware that this viewpoint is “in sync” with the feelings of a majority of the people in American culture. He has also read writings which condemn homosexuality for devout Christian life and church leadership. He knows that non-affirming people condemn homosexual behavior as a sin. Yet he vows he will “stand on truth and stand on love.”
The truth is that Scripture states that same-sex desire is a sin if gay people act on that desire. What he cannot accept is the non-affirming Christians who cannot find a way to love gay people. Sprinkle states that Jesus spent a tremendous amount of time with the outcasts of His contemporary society. The reason He did that is to reach them with His message. He spent a lot less time with religious leaders of His day because they did not need to hear His message and did not appreciate it anyway. Sprinkle has made it his ministry to reach out to gay Christians. He knows them as people who are seeking a place to worship. He knows that some heterosexual Christians do not want to have anything to do with gay Christians even going so far as to be cruel to them.
What I do like about Sprinkle is his serious study of the culture of the Old Testament and New Testament. He writes about the use of Greek and Aramaic language in the Scriptures that condemn same-sex activity. Whereas some people base their opinions on feelings, Sprinkle bases his opinion on ancient writings of the time and careful translation. He tackles many of the arguments that affirming people use to defend gay Christians. Jesus does not speak negative words against gay behavior. Sprinkle explains He did not have to because Jewish Law was very clear about people having sex with their own gender. In Bible times the practice of homosexuality was rare [aforementioned pederasty was the most common practice]. Too many affirming people use the silence argument that means Jesus’s silence means acceptance but Sprinkle thinks this argument is not very strong.
Like DeYoung, Sprinkle discusses at length Paul’s use of malakos and arsenokoites and the specific meaning of those words. DeYoung says that this is a direct Scriptural reference to same-sex activity as sin but Sprinkle says “possibly.” Those terms also refer to effeminate men, “abusers of themselves with mankind” [that is unclear] and also men who abuse others with sexual activity. It depends on the translation of the original Greek. Have those words been used in a destructive way to denigrate homosexuals; yes they have. What Sprinkle is saying is the words are not clear; the language is not that simple.
Sprinkle does not shy away from difficult topics. Are people born gay or does society make them that way? Is reparative therapy effective in changing a gay person into a heterosexual? Is a mixed orientation marriage an effective method of avoiding condemnation? Sprinkle has thought long and hard about this topic and cannot say that acting on same-sex desire is ok but he also cannot say that he condemns gay people. As far as gay people serving in the pulpit, he has no problem with that as long as they are celibate. But If a church member is active sexually, he writes “I cannot hate them”. As the title of his book says, they are people to be loved. Scripture supports the idea that their sexual activity is not appropriate, but people in the church should reach out to homosexuals. He advises making time to meet with gay individuals and listening to their stories and asking questions. “You learn about the deep, painful, joyful, confusing story that has driven this marvelous soul from church and now back to church. You look them in the eye. You take them by the hand. You smile, you cry, you hug, and you show the love of Christ that drew tax collectors and sinners to Him” [139].
At the end of this long post, it is time for me to state what I have learned from this project. One thing I have to be clear about is that I don’t have a negative, hateful attitude toward gay people. Today tolerance means that you accept their life choices. That’s not what tolerance means. Tolerance means “live and let Iive.” I don’t accept their life choices because Scripture does not support their sexual activity. But I feel that people have a right to do what they feel they must do and I am not the judge of their choices. That is God’s work. Too many people feel that because American culture is accepting of homosexuals that everyone in the church should accept them. I am not sure the church should bend to fit American culture. Maybe it should be the other way around. Culture should bend to the church. I am a Global Methodist because I did not feel compelled to leave my church when it disaffiliated. But I don’t want people to label me as a hater of gays because my church disaffiliated over this issue. When it came time for me to decide what to do, I did not have adequate knowledge of this issue and I knew non-affirming Scripture was in the Bible. Could we just ignore those Scriptures? I do not feel we can. However, in my mind a gay person can be a Christian. Based on Scripture, It would be better for them if they were celibate. My intention is not to say harmful things about people who prefer same-sex intimacy. I am expressing my belief about Scripture. Should a gay person serve in the ministry? They can but not in my church; many denominations do allow this. Could a gay person be an effective pastor? Probably they could, but it would be difficult for some Christians who have very negative feelings about non-affirming Scripture.
Even though I worship within a church that sets boundaries for Christian leadership and the sacrament of Christian marriage, I cannot hate gay people. I know of friends who do and I think they are wrong to harbor such negative feelings toward any human being. Christians are what we do and if we hate others we are not showing the first fruit of the Holy Spirit. That fruit is love. Love is of God and God’s people will love. If we can’t do this for everyone, something is wrong. Maybe we want to be called Christian, but if we can’t love others…
Maybe we aren’t….
*Some of my posts from February 2023 until today are what I call “directional” posts. I felt I had to let the reader know where I was going from time to time as I shifted from one book to another. Those directional posts were entitled “Don’t Lose Sight.” I did not count them in my totals. I had the odd post that occurred from time to time on the LGBTQ issue: Christmas, voting in an election, a personal family tragedy etc. I did not count them in my totals.
**March 3, 2024 Basic changes to the United Methodist Church: marriage is defined as two adults of consenting age [changed from adult male and adult female]. Homosexuals can become ministers [appointed by the United Methodist Church]. The United Methodist church will allow same-sex weddings in United Methodist Churches.
***To date over 7,000 churches have disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church.
“The Challenge…” I like that subtitle. Dr. Preston Sprinkle has written one hundred and seventy-five pages on homosexuality and the Christian Church, trying to find “middle ground” between Christians who affirm homosexuals and Christians who do not affirm homosexuals. I have discussed his book as well as books by Peter Gomes and Kevin DeYoung.* I have tried to learn from these authors and in the process, I have tried to determine how I feel about this topic. As some know, the United Methodist Church is not “united” anymore, having gone through a schism over this very issue. My United Methodist congregation has discussed what to do about this issue and the majority of my church has decided to disaffiliate and become “Global Methodist.”**
I have felt a challenge to be a Christian, obey God’s Word and navigate within a culture that is more and more accepting of same-sex relationships. Preston Sprinkle has struggled also. He is not willing to say that the active pursuit of same-sex partners is acceptable but he is also not willing to close the doors of the church to people who identify as homosexual. “As I reflect on my interaction with the Bible and homosexuality, I see several challenges for nonaffirming Christians as we seek to be truthfully loving, and lovingly truthful, toward gay people inside and outside our church communities” [177].
What are those challenges? How can we meet them? Here is what he says.
“First of all, cultivate an environment where people who experience same-sex attraction can talk about it.” This is basic. How will we ever understand what it is like to be homosexual if we don’t encourage open discussion? Many Christians may reply to this idea with “I don’t want to hear what those ‘pervs’ have to say.” There you have it, a closed minded person who will probably never learn anything new on this topic. Too many churches have what Sprinkle calls a “us” [straight people] versus “them”[gay people] mentality. People who experience same sex attraction are made to feel gross or ashamed. There is nowhere in the church for them to talk openly about their struggles. If that kind of talk was allowed to happen, they would find themselves in a church filled with “cold silence and terrified stares.” Sprinkle is honest enough as a pastor to admit that churches already have homosexuals within the congregation; they just work hard to stay in the closet so the rest of the “straight” Christians do not know their sexual interests.
“I long for the day when preachers and teachers, deacons and elders, single college students and stay-at-home moms can all talk about their same sex attraction and not be viewed as animals” [178].
Secondly, “listen to the stories of LGBT people.” As a communications professor I know that one of the most significant things one can do to show love and respect for another is to listen to what they are saying. Here is what I don’t understand: “I think the fear is that if you listen to someone’s story, it means you agree with all of their decisions and actions in that story” [180]. In other words, if you listen to a homosexual you are affirming their life choices. We don’t treat other people like that. Counselors listen to people who need help. Doctors listen to patients. Lawyers listen to clients. Friends listen to friends. None of these listeners agree with everything they hear. Listening just means that they care enough about the person they are listening to that they are trying to, to try to understand their story. They respect them. Yes, they feel called to exhibit the love that Christ encourages us to exhibit. “To listen is to love, and you can’t deeply love until you listen.”
Next, “put homophobia to death.” Sprinkle has strong feelings about this; he writes “Stab it. Kill it. And Bury it in a grave. If it tries to resurrect, step on its head” [181]. Why is this so important? It should be obvious. This kind of talk is hateful and if someone identifies as Christian, it should not be coming out of their mouth. Also never forget that hateful speech hurts all Christians as unbelievers see us using words that hurt others. Jesus surrounded Himself with sinners; even though people saw that we know that Jesus was not a sinner; He just knew that befriending sinners was a way to help them. It is called unconditional love. Jesus cared for people; He did not push them away with hateful language.
Another idea is learn to “educate others about the complexities of homosexuality.” This challenge builds on challenge number one and challenge number two. If people cannot feel comfortable enough to express themselves and if people cannot feel enough respect for others that they are willing to listen, we will never learn about the struggles of being a homosexual in today’s world. If there is anything I have learned since I began blogging on this topic, the life of a same-sex attracted person is not “one size fits all.” Sprinkle states that whenever he talks to Christians on this topic it is hard. Christians are uneasy with these ideas, some even angry. What he tries to do is humanize homosexuality. If people are uneasy, it is important to understand what is making them that way, to be open and honest about feelings. If people are full of anger, they need to know that their anger may be based on a very “thin understanding” of the idea of homosexuality. The title of his book is People To Be Loved and respect and love for others is what Jesus expects of us. Sprinkle calls educating others about the complexities of homosexuality a “truth posture”. It is simple: “listen, attempt to understand, learn the other side and to be connected by God’s Word.” What are nonaffirming Christians feeling about same-sex attraction? What assumptions are they making? “We need to come humbly before God’s authoritative Word and invite the Spirit to show us where we need to be more like Jesus—because with homosexuality, we haven’t been” [182].
I will summarize challenge five and six together because they are strongly related to culture: “Promote biblical (not cultural) masculinity and femininity” and “we are living in Babylon.” I live in a small town [population 40,000] in western Kentucky where a large chunk of the local economy revolves around agriculture. I don’t want to stereotype*** but the large muddy 4×4 pickup truck is a common sight. There is a strong emphasis on common sense, the ability to fix things, hunting, football and what I call conservative values. I am trying to express the idea that being a man’s man is valued in this environment. In American culture today and in the American church today, the “standard” masculine and feminine roles are emphasized so much that any other behavior is ridiculed. This could lead to a nature versus nurture discussion but let’s not go there [discussed in many other posts]. The main point is that if some artificial standard of gender cannot be met, let’s not chase people away from church because they don’t feel they belong.
Another cultural factor is the current climate of conservatism that views homosexuality through a political lens. Some only see same-sex attraction as the “gay lobby and legalization of gay marriage.” What do we need to do to save America? We need to go back prior to June 2015 and make gay marriage illegal again. When the Supreme Court decided to legalize gay marriage, that was a “horrible decision”. Sprinkle has some recommendations for Christians who politicize this issue. Recognize that Christianity was born in a culture that was much more immoral than America [Roman culture]. Homosexuality is not a sign of the degradation of American society; it is not a threat to American civilization. Try to overcome this type of thinking. Stop fighting the culture war. Gay marriage is legal. People may be more open and honest about their sexual needs. “I obviously don’t agree with the morality of their decision [the Court’s]. But I’m sort of thankful that they made it because now the church can stop fighting the culture war and start asking . . .how we can minister to LGBT people?” [185]. Accept the fact that no matter what is going on in American culture, Christians are living in Babylon. What Sprinkle means is that a secular nation making secular decisions should not be a shock. We have to live with these decisions but the Supreme Court should not make us hateful. LGBT people are not an issue to debate or some lobby to vote against. They are people who need to be treated as people, to borrow Sprinkle’s title “People to be Loved.”
The final challenge for the church is “remember—God is holy.” If there has been anything that Dr. Preston Sprinkle has been consistent with, it has been that homosexuality is not just an issue. This topic is about people. He refuses to dehumanize homosexuals. When he writes on this issue he writes about real people with real stories. His agony about this issue is my agony. When a Christian chooses to post something derogatory on Facebook about this issue, I can’t imagine that God is pleased. When a Christian uses a homophobic slur in discussion with his friends, I can’t imagine that God is pleased. When a Christian cannot help a homosexual neighbor in a time of need when they are fully capable of help and their excuse is “I don’t help those kinds of people,” I can’t imagine that God is pleased. I also don’t demonize homosexuals. I know that God holds me to a higher standard. Sprinkle seems to agree. “We serve a Creator who is holy and just, transcendent and near….a God who is sovereign King of the universe, and He creates, cultivates and judges our morality. And we serve a Savior who suffered—born in a feeding trough and nailed to a tree—and calls us to a life of joy and suffering.” Does God feel compelled to answer all our questions about the many aspects of life we don’t understand? I don’t believe He does. Yet we have so much evidence that God expects us to fulfill His basic expectations. Do the work He has set before us. Love [the first fruit] is mandatory. Love people. Serve people; that is our purpose. Have a genuine faith that produces good deeds. Persevere in life despite the barriers that will come against you and never stop trying to do more and more. Reach more people as you can.
Will some of those people we reach not be like us? Sure they won’t be, but they deserve our attention, our attempts at understanding, our respectful listening…they deserve our love.
Like all people, they are People to be Loved.
*Preston Sprinkle, People to be Loved: Why Homosexuality is not Just an Issue; Peter Gomes, The Good Book; and Kevin DeYoung, What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?.
**United Methodists have been more or less civilly disagreeing about gay rights since the 1970s, but the issue came to a head in 2019. At a UMC General Conference that year, the theologically conservative camp, aided by socially conservative United Methodists from Africa, outflanked the moderates and liberals and pushed through a resolution affirming existing UMC bans on same-sex weddings and the ordination of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” as clergy.
Accessed on 2/20/ 2025 From The Week by Peter Weber, January 5, 2023.
There she was, across from me in the produce section of my favorite grocery store. I had not seen her in months, but for many years we used to worship at the same church. I was on the same team with her as we worked on vacation Bible school. I sang with her in the choir. I mourned with her when her husband died long before I thought he should have passed. I always enjoyed playing golf with him.
Yet she was a few feet away from me and as I looked at her, she frowned and looked away. I began to say her name but I stopped short. Her body language was not communicating friendliness; I got the distinct impression that she did not want to interact with me. Within seconds, she moved quickly to another location in the store and I did not see her again.
When the church where we worshipped became Global Methodist,* she left. She has a family member who is gay and I felt that maybe the change of denomination kept her from worshipping there. One Sunday, she just stopped coming to worship services and never returned.
What was on her mind as we encountered one another? I wanted say hello and something like I have missed seeing you, but I have no idea about why she reacted to me the way she did. I have never had an opportunity to talk to her about her feelings about the United Methodist schism so I can only guess. I can only say how I “felt” that day in the grocery but of course my feelings are not valid about her because I have no solid evidence from her to support them.
This episode raises important questions as I come to the end of my discussion of homosexuality in the Christian church. How should the opposing sides in this debate feel about each other? Should we just take our positions on opposite sides of the issue and hurl epithets at each other? If we take our cues from the cultural climate in the United States today, that would seem to be the most appropriate posture.
But that kind of behavior goes against my nature. I don’t dislike people just because they view life differently from me but homosexuality in the church has become a dichotomous issue now and it has become increasingly hard to take a neutral position on this topic. Preston Sprinkle** is very clear about the cultural shift that has taken place in American. “A couple of decades ago, affirming Christians were a small minority. Today a growing number of evangelical believers affirm the sanctity of monogamous same-sex unions. My guess is that it won’t be long before non-affirming Christians will be in the minority…the church is on the verge of a catastrophic split. People on both sides need to think deeply about how they view those on the other side” [150].
Sprinkle is an advocate for communicating on this issue, trying to understand other views. But he is also a Biblical scholar who does not feel Scripture sanctions same-sex unions. However he sees no value in labelling affirming Christians “heretics,” “wolves in sheep’s clothing” or “false prophets.” Is human sexual preference a real threat to orthodoxy or just a secondary issue like the preferred day to keep the Sabbath or the preferred method of baptism? Can we still worship together even though we have a difference of opinion? Sprinkle has studied affirming arguments and non-affirming arguments and is open to both sides explaining their point of view, not disliking each other.
He feels it is important to understand why affirming Christians affirm same-sex Christians. In the case of my friend at the beginning of this post I suspect that she feels her son would no longer be accepted in my church. However if he came to worship at my church I don’t think he would feel any different than anyone else. The subject of homosexuality never comes up in a sermon and there is no “homosexuals not welcome” message on the front page of the weekly bulletin. This is a church doctrine issue and not a subject that is discussed at all. It has been my experience that most church members don’t spend a lot of time studying church doctrine. I also feel Sprinkle is correct when he says that not all affirming Christians are the same. Again, our culture today tends to direct all of us to pick a side, and to say negative things about the other side. As Sprinkle says that not all affirming Christians are the same, not all non-affirming Christians are the same. Even though non-affirming Christians would prefer not to have homosexuals as pastors and don’t encourage homosexuals to be married in their church, most don’t have hateful feelings toward homosexuals [I suspect some do]. Too many same-sex Christians and affirming Christians think that non-affirming Christians sit around making “Adam and Even not Adam and Steve” jokes or saying things like “gay pride is why Sodom fried.” Human sexuality church doctrine may be why the United Methodist Church split but human sexuality is not the primary focus of worship in non-affirming churches.
I am not going to re-litigate the many arguments for and against homosexuality in the church in this post*** but I love the way Sprinkle writes the section called “Interlude” in his book. “So what does the Bible really say? It says that it’s a sin. It’s damnable, evil and could exclude a person from God’s kingdom. It’s so bad that God destroyed an entire city that was engaged in it, and Jesus says that those who practice it are liable to face judgement rather than salvation when He returns…. Our culture has accepted it as a virtue instead of a vice. Even our Christian culture is letting it slip into our churches unnoticed….Many churches, if they are not actively endorsing it, try to remain neutral. But neutrality is nothing more than endorsement covered in sheep’s clothing”
“I’m talking about the misuse of wealth—the sin that’s condemned in more than two thousand passages in God’s inspired Word.”
I bet you thought he was talking about homosexuality.
What should we do as Christians? Take sides and castigate the other side? I don’t think so. We are supposed to do the good deeds of The Father and His Son Jesus. We are supposed to love others. As we receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we experienced love, love and that love should be passed on to others. We are supposed to serve. A life in Christ is a life that is dedicated to serve those who need our help. We are supposed to have faith, faith that produces good deeds. We are supposed to have perseverance; we serve and love others even in personal times of trouble because God is with us and powering us. We are supposed to grow our faith, serve more and reach more people; to increase in good works.
Christians, know how we are supposed to treat others. I don’t think we are supposed to glare at each other across the produce aisle.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” John Wesley
*The Global Methodist denomination was born out of the United Methodist Schism which was centered on human sexuality regarding the acceptance of same-sex church leaders, pastors and same-sex marriage within the church.
** Author of People to be Loved: Why Homosexuality is not Just an Issue
***There will be time devoted to wrapping this discussion in a future post.
For the person who is attracted to their own sex, what does Christian faithfulness look like?
This question is at the heart of Preston Sprinkle’s writing about homosexuals and the church. Do they even have a chance to be faithful?
As a straight man raised in the church, I had some pressures. I was pressured to join the church. I could have refused baptism but I did not. As a straight man I felt a need to find a girlfriend to date in high school and upon graduation, I knew I wanted to marry a person of the opposite sex one day. That was expected of young men in the sixties and seventies in the United States. I did fall in love and accomplished that goal. Then my wife and I got subtle suggestions that we should do our part to continue the family by having a child. We had a boy and named him Scott.
Following this path, I found that I was accepted in many places; church, school, the workplace, social gatherings etc. I did not have choices to make that put many limits on my life. My sexual interests did not hinder my acceptance by others.
Sprinkle has spent the years of his ministry trying to understand the world of the Christian who is experiencing same-sex attraction. He knows all about the hard choices they have to make. Sprinkle does not identify as gay; he identifies as a heterosexual Christian pastor who wants to serve the Lord. What makes him unique is his dedication to ministering to Christians who are attracted to their same sex.
In Chapter 10 of his book he explores the options that are available. The questions that a homosexual Christian has are basic: Where do I go to church? With my sexual interest, can I serve my God? Can I have a fulfilled life as a Christian or am I a condemned sinner?
“Imagine that your dreams of getting married and having kids were crushed by the thought that you could never be with the man or woman you desire. Like waking up from a nightmare, but realizing it wasn’t a dream, gay Christians battle daily with temptations and struggles that most Christians will never experience” [Sprinkle, 157]. Contrast this paragraph to my “straight” paragraph [three] above. My life took the “acceptable” track.
Needless to say, Sprinkle has known many people over the years who are dear to his heart, people who are attracted to their own sex but also people who love God and want to be in a church. Over the years of his ministry, he has seen people struggle to find their way in the “straight world.” How do they attempt to do this?
One option is to gamble on what is called reparative therapy. This type of therapy is all about counseling gay people into becoming individuals who are willing to renounce their interest in their same sex. The results of this type of counseling are mixed at best. A common example can be found in parents who are intent on changing their teenagers into “normal” kids through reparative therapy. Often the gay teen is not invested in the counseling; the parents want it for their child. Sprinkle says that any positive results for reparative therapy start with the intent of the client; the person who experiences same-sex attraction must desire the change. “If someone should seek reparative therapy, they need to be the one who desires it. Not their friend, not their pastor, and especially not their parents” [161]. The success rate for this type of therapy is not impressive.
A second option is a mixed-orientation marriage. This type of marriage is a friendship relationship between two people of the opposite sex, but one person in the relationship has same-sex attraction. When I read about this option, I considered how much a person really feels the need to “fit in” to society. Mixed orientation couples would rather present themselves as heterosexual when they are not rather than having to deal with non-affirming responses from people in their church, school, workplace and social gatherings. This is essentially a marriage of convenience. Sprinkle says that the only way this couple survives is transparency. The opposite-sex partner needs to be open about their struggles and fears in the marriage and the same-sex partner should not feel any outside pressure to pursue this type of arrangement. The only way this will work [and it can] is that both people really must want this.
The last option is celibacy. For many gay people this is how they fit into the church. They have same-sex desires but they don’t act on them. Reverend Peter Gomes [one of the authors I have commented upon] practiced celibacy and he pastored the Memorial Church at Harvard. This arrangement has come under attack from affirming people and non-affirming people. Affirming people say this kind of life is “dehumanizing,” that people who are attracted to their own sex should be free to pursue a sexual relationship. They think celibates are forcing themselves to live like this and they are only doing this because conservatives demand it. Non-affirming people are not satisfied because they don’t trust celibates. Not acting on sexual desire is not enough for them; they feel that the gay person must be totally devoid of same-sex attraction.
In reading Sprinkle’s chapter on the options that a same-sex Christian has, they are certainly more complex than my choices in paragraph three. Sprinkle spends a lot of time on celibacy, much more than option one and option two. Celibacy means that the gay person has to live the life of a single person. Sprinkle comments on what we all know about church: “The church does not know what to do with singles.” Most Christians think that being single is just a short period before a person finds their “true love” and enters a marriage relationship. Most Christians think that marriage leads to parenthood. Therefore the church tends to say to singles that something is wrong if you don’t get married and have kids.
Is the church doing anything to address this problem? Most churches do not have a vibrant singles group. And statistically, single people are the group that is least likely to attend church, be involved with a small group or volunteer at church events. Married people lead the way in all three of those commitments. Of course, married people feel welcomed at Christian churches.
I am close to the end of this blog post and I don’t think I have a solution to the problems of the gay Christian. Where do they go for their worship experience? Where can they belong? Can they even be gay and be Christian? Let’s be honest. Some “straight” Christians think a gay person cannot be Christian, but I know some who feel they are and certainly Preston Sprinkle knows many who feel they are. I have a friend who is a pastor and he had a celibate family member who was attracted to the opposite sex and he navigated through life as a single, gay man who belonged to a church and believed in our Lord and Savior. Was this life easy? I can imagine it was not.
Do we turn to Sprinkle for the solution? As he ends his chapter on this topic I don’t see any. He says “I don’t buy the unchristian notion that denying gay people a same-sex spouse is tantamount to denying them a fulfilled life” [174]. Also he thinks it is a “modern American evangelical lie” that one has to have a marital spouse to find happiness. That arrangement is the only way that a Christian can feel “called” and experience true fulfillment as a human being.
Then Sprinkle writes this statement that will be upsetting to conservative, non-affirming Christians: “None of this is based on a Christian worldview.” The Christian world view “finds its meaning in a single [emphasis mine] Savior who was spat upon, mocked, tortured and killed, yet ‘for the joy set before him’ endured the misery of the cross in order to taste the delights of resurrection life” [175]. Jesus never promised an easy life for any of us, but He did promise that every “spark of loneliness, tinge of pain, every dull ache of depression, every chill of isolation, will be redeemed when Jesus returns to restore His creation and reward the righteous with eternal life” [175].
When will we know if that same-sex Christians are acceptable to God? When Jesus returns. Then and only then will we know if a gay person can be a faithful follower of the Son and the Father. Then and only then will we know who will be on “the side of the angels.”
There are many tough questions regarding the issue of homosexuality and the Christian church. Since I began a discussion of this topic on February 2, 2023, I am sure I have touched on many of those questions. While working on this project, I have consulted three authors expressing three different views with one author affirming homosexual participation in the church, one author not affirming homosexual participation in the church and Preston Sprinkle.* Sprinkle seeks to find middle ground on this issue. As he concludes his book [and I conclude my study of these three authors], he has a chapter that I have commented on: the controversial idea “Does God Make People Gay?” [see posts on November 20 and December 30]. Now let’s try to tackle the chapter entitled “Gay and Christian: Can Someone Be Both?”
Let’s be honest. Many non-affirming Christians may have heard that some gay people claim Christianity as their faith. That is a problem for them: if a person is gay, they just can’t be Christian. Let’s be brutally honest. They think they are sinners and are not “qualified.” Affirming Christians don’t have a problem with gay people claiming they have faith in God; they have an accepting attitude. Gay people can be Christian. The fact that they look at the world a different way is not a problem because God values diversity and there are all sorts of identities that are good , reflecting God’s colorful image.
Sprinkle looks at this from many different angles, but overall, I like his emphasis on labels. We live in a world where people are increasingly irresponsible in their use of words. Sprinkle says “When we use language, we need to consider not just what we mean by our words, but how those words will be understood in the ears of others….we need to be sensitive to our audience when we use certain terms—especially terms that mean different things to different people” [142-43]. Today, too many people in our social media world don’t have Sprinkle’s attitude.
I began this blog post with the term homosexual. I switched to the word “gay” because Sprinkle’s chapter is entitled “Gay and Christian.” Since I began this study on February 2, 2023, I have been very concerned that I would use improper language to refer to same-sex attracted people. I felt I should be concerned. I don’t want to offend.
I am a “straight” man. That means I am attracted to the opposite sex. Being heterosexual does not mean that I am only attracted to my wife, but being married means that I don’t want to have sex with lots of women. I am in love with her and (should only) sexually desire my wife. It is the way I look at the world. My wife is also heterosexual and we have had many discussions since I began writing on this topic. She views this topic from a female heterosexual point of view.
Of course this is not how same-sex, gay, homosexual people see the world. First of all, I have learned that many heterosexual non-affirming Christians focus on the homosexual sex act in condemning gay people, but same-sex orientation is not just about sex. Peter Gomes [the affirming author I used for this study] admitted publicly that he was gay but he also stated that he was celibate. Judgmental, heterosexual Christians often think that a same-sex orientation means that kind of person spends a lot of time actively desiring and having homosexual sex. “Being gay doesn’t mean you walk around wanting to have lots of gay sex any more than being straight means you walk around wanting to have lots of straight sex” [Sprinkle, 146]. Are these judgmental, heterosexual Christians too focused on the gay sex act? Sprinkle cites a lesbian friend who says “I just long for intimacy, a desire for nearness, for partnership, for close friendship, rich conversation and an overall appreciation for beauty. Over the course of 10,080 minutes that go by in a given week, very few of those minutes (if any at all) are likely comprised of sexual thoughts about othr women” [Julie Rogers, cited in Sprinkle 147].
What happens to many Christians who consider a same-sex individual? Instead of getting to know people as people, they “stuff you in a box and strap it with a label” and if that label is gay they are very quick to say your behavior is sinful.
There is a part of me that understands the inability to relate to a person who is attracted to their own sex, but there is also a part of me who is offended by Christians who are quick to label homosexuals as sinners. Those same people may use their money in a greedy way, never helping those with great needs, only focusing on hoarding more funds. They may go on Facebook and use horrible language to hurt others who don’t measure up to their “high” standards. Maybe they cheat on their taxes or look at pornography even though they are married. Too often Christians love to single out certain sins that are just not acceptable and they ignore others they deem acceptable. This type of behavior is akin to the behavior that the Pharisees exhibited in Jesus’ day. We all know how Jesus felt about them.
I find it interesting that Sprinkle castigates these people, yet he does not totally accept all gay Christians. Of course he can accept gay people who are attracted to their own sex but they have not acted on their desires. He also struggles with gay people who honestly love God: “gay Christians…experience a stronger realization that one’s primary familial identity is in the church and not in one’s nuclear family.” Their orientation is very much akin to mine as I put my God Father above my earthly father and my brothers and sisters in Christ are my church family. Jesus states “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Sprinkle says gay Christians that he has met really understand this. Sprinkle refuses to condemn this kind of person.
Remember, Sprinkle seeks middle ground and in a world that likes to see the world as black and white. Many think there is not such place as “the middle ground”. As I began this post, I stated that some think if you are gay you can’t be a Christian. If you are a heterosexual you can be. Sprinkle likes to suspend judgement and get to know people before he labels them. Then as a pastor he tries to decide if a person’s sin is “morally culpable.” He states “a morally culpable sin is a concrete act of disobedience that people need to repent from” [144]. He is not quick to say same-sex orientation is a morally culpable sin. If same sex lust is acted on, that is different from other same-sex orientations. He uses himself as an example. “Whether I am sleeping or awake, studying or at the beach, I never cease to be heterosexual. I am attracted to females; that is my orientation. That doesn’t mean I am slobbering around 24/7 wanting to ‘have sex’ [my words] with every female I see. That would be lust, not attraction” 145. In his study of this issue, it is the actions that are morally culpable and some actions are more acceptable and some actions are less acceptable. This is not a black or white position on this issue.
Sprinkle feels that passages in Scripture [eg. Romans 1] condemn specific sins but Paul doesn’t label a person as “sinner” and insist they be thrown out of the church. He comments on 1 Corinthians 5 when the church at Corinth did not act on a sin that should have been addressed [an incestuous affair between a son and his stepmother]. The people involved did not repent and the church did not take action. Paul writes “Expel the wicked person from among you” [1 Cor. 5: 12].
Does this same command apply to gay people in the church? Some Christians say yes while others say no. I can imagine a non-affirming Christian reading this post and citing Matthew 5: 37: “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.” I wonder if it is that simple. Sprinkle closes his chapter nine with these words: it is “unloving…to cherry-pick verses from the Bible that feel right to us and ignore the rest that don’t feel loving to us….If we are the ultimate judges of what is right and wrong and if we think we have a better, more updated understanding of what love is, then we are doing nothing more than replicating the sin of Eden and becoming our own moral authority—determining what is right and wrong” [Sprinkle 155].
To those who would be quick to condemn gay Christians and insist they be prohibited from worship let us turn once again to 1 Cor. 5: 2 and see that Paul says “The perpetually unrepentant greedy, revilers, drunks and sexually immoral who claim to be a Jesus-follower,” let us not turn a blind eye to their sin: “put [them] out of your fellowship.”
Maybe we need to be consistent and not single out certain sins. Maybe the world is not as black and white as we think
*People To Be Loved: Why Homosexuality is not Just an Issue
On November 20, 2024, I wrote a post entitled “It Is Just Not That Simple.” In that post I commented on much of the debate regarding the nature vs nurture issue* and homosexuality. The nature vs nurture debate fuels a lot of the attitudes that people have toward homosexuality and the church. In that post, I referred to the nature vs nurture discussion as a “circular argument,” trying to explain that the “debate” goes around and around in circles, really getting nowhere. One can leave the discussion there and just allow people to have their own opinions but if those opinions are “stuck” and based on pure lack of knowledge, that is a shame. What we can do to work toward some solution is to read Sprinkle’s advice in Chapter 8. I don’t do this often but I want to get personal in my comments about what Sprinkle is saying in “Born This Way: Does God Make People Gay.”
I don’t often reference my background but I will in this case because I have a level of expertise in a related subject matter. I have a Ph.D. in interpersonal communication from the University of Kentucky. Interpersonal communication study can be defined simply as the study of how two people can share their life experiences through the exchange of messages. They can share to the point that they have a degree of commonality. They can share to the point they feel that they have relational knowledge.
You might be asking how does this intersect the nature vs nurture issue regarding homosexuality and what is the solution that Sprinkle proposes? I think that Sprinkle is trying to tell us in Chapter 8 that making the effort to understand others through effective interpersonal communication is the key to making progress with this endless debate [i.e. sharing experiences through the exchange of messages].
At the risk of being too simple, I will explain how people communicate.
Like Sprinkle, I believe that there is a lot of complexity inherent in the communication process as one person shares their perception of the world with another. Simply put, that is what happens when communication occurs. I share how I see the world with another person who has a differing perception. Communication occurs when they share in return. Eventually we may begin to understand each other’s perceptions.
Don’t get me wrong; differing perceptions are ok. There are so many factors that come into play that make us individuals, that make us have differing perceptions. Here is a very partial list: gender, age, occupation, individual interests, cultural background etc. The list can go on forever as each of us considers all the factors that make us unique. It is ok to celebrate uniqueness but let us not forget that the goal of interpersonal communication is sharing experiences through the exchange of messages. When I communicate with someone I want to understand them as a person. I want to find some way to connect my life experience [my perceptions] with theirs and then I can begin to know them as a person.
Let’s not spend much time bemoaning the current state of interpersonal communication today [the speed of life, the need for expression (and not making an attempt at understanding others), the search for simplicity, the lack of interest in expanding our understanding of others]. All of these factors (and many more) work against sharing experiences with other human beings.
It takes time to speak and then to listen [really listen]. Efficient expression is not the ultimate goal; the ultimate goal is understanding. Simple opinions about others can destroy relationships because those simple opinions can be based on all types of biases, incorrect attributions and just plain stereotypes [stereotypes can kill interpersonal communication]. Lack of interest in understanding others is also a major problem because that shows a lack of need for learning. The more you share experiences, the more you learn. Someone who wants to communicate with others has a deep-seated interest in learning from others.
Today there is a great confusion about tolerance. Some dismiss tolerance as an erosion of standards. In some Christian circles, the attitude toward tolerance is akin to an “anything goes” attitude about human behavior. If tolerance is allowed, sin will soon follow. Maybe it is unusual, but I have never seen tolerance that way. Early in my career, I was profoundly influenced by a quote by a communication scholar named William Prather. I used to share the quote with my interpersonal communication students: “I don’t see the world the way you see the world, but that is ok; you are not me and that is ok.” For me, that is tolerance based on reality, the reality that people are unique individuals who must share their experience in order to understand others. We cannot construct a world where we are all alike; it does not exist. The best we can do is try to take what we think the world is like and share that with others and let them share their ideas about the world with us. Let me add, that It is best to realize that the sharing process is talking and listening, not just talking. Take the time to process meanings coming from others [of course, we must be quiet and concerned about understanding the positions of others to do that].
What is the point of all this?
The point is that given the complexity of the issue of homosexuality and Christianity we must be good interpersonal communicators or we will never understand people who have views that are different from our own.
There are many metaphors that one can apply to the “circular argument” of whether a homosexual should be affirmed or not be affirmed by the church, but Sprinkle chooses the metaphor of an iceberg. When someone learns of a person who has same-sex interest and wants to join the church, how do they handle it? Do they “look to the story lying beneath the waters” or do they just see the tip of the iceberg and come to a quick conclusion about the person involved? Too often it is the latter.
He advises making time to meet with the individual. He advises listening, asking questions. “You learn about the deep, painful, joyful, confusing story that has driven this marvelous soul from church and now back to church. You look them in the eye. You take them by the hand. You smile, you cry, you hug, and you show the love of Christ that drew tax collectors and sinners to him” [139].
You acknowledge that “People don’t just wake up one day and say ‘I think I’m going to be gay’” [139]. It is a process that occurs over time, a conglomeration of a massive number of experiences that result in a view of the world that may indeed be different from your own. Yes it is not simply nature or simply nurture. What we are saying is that we have to add another differing perception to the partial list I cited above: sexual orientation. That differing perception is at the heart of the circular argument of nature vs. nurture. That differing perception is at the heart of a Christian’s ability to affirm or not to affirm a homosexual person who wants to belong to the church.
The way to deal with this is to communicate, to share experiences. Sprinkle calls his brand of interpersonal communication “You confront with the otherworldly love of Christ, which is far superior and way more humanizing than any other love you will find in the world” [139].
“People will gravitate to where they are loved the most. And if the world out-loves the church, then we have implicitly nudged our children away from the loving arms of Christ” [139].
As Christians we can go around and around in circles on this issue or we can take a side and say awful things about the “other side” but I don’t think that those approaches solve anything. To get somewhere with this issue we must take action.
We must learn to share our experiences and encourage others to share their experiences.
We must strive to understand others.
We must speak and we must listen.
*Comments on Chapter 8 of People to Be Loved “Born This Way” by Dr. Preston Sprinkle, the author of the book People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality is not Just an Issue
St. John Studies 